Genesis and Archwology.— This subject is of importance because of its bearing on the historical value of Genesis. For an adequate consideration of the subject it may be of value to separate the stories in Genesis i, 1-xi, 9 from the patriarchal narratives in xi, 10-1, 26. Archaeology has discovered in the litera ture of Babylonia myths and legends which strikingly resemble some of the stories in Gene sis i-xi. The parallels are closest in the accounts of creation and of the flood, but the resemblances are by no means confined to these. There are certain features in the Genesis story of paradise and of the fall which strongly point to Babylonia; the antediluvian patriarchs have their counterparts in Babylonia, and the story of the Tower of Babel certainly presupposes a knowledge of Babylonia and may rest upon some Babylonian legend.
The resemblances are easily accounted for. The Hebrews were Semites; so were the Baby lonians. Peoples belonging to the same race, springing from a common stock, might be ex pected to possess similar traditions and beliefs. Moreover, as the result of more or less con stant intercourse between Assyria-Babylonia and Palestine elements of Babylonian civiliza tion would inevitably find their way to the lands and nations along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
However, the numerous points of contact must not blind the eye to the presence of even more significant points of contrast. The latter appear principally in the spirit and atmosphere pervading the Hebrew stories, which separate these widely not only from the Babylonian sto ries but also from all similar stories in other extrabiblical literature. While there is in many cases agreement in form, there is in the He brew records aan intensity of spiritual concep tion, a sublimity of spiritual tone, an insight into the unseen, a reliance upon an invisible yet all-controlling power, that create the gap be tween the Hebrew and his brother Semite be yond the River." Archaeology has thrown little light on the patriarchal narratives; for not a single inci dent in the patriarchal story is referred to in any of the inscriptions read thus far. On the other hand, as the result of archxological inves tigation, the age of the patriarchs has been won derfully illuminated. In the words of one scholar, "Formerly the world in which the patriarchs moved seemed almost empty; now we see it filled with embassies, armies, busy cities and long lines of traders passing to and fro between one centre of civilization and an other." °But," he continues, "amid all that crowded life we peer in vain for any trace of the fathers of the Hebrews; we listen in vain for any mention of their names; this is the whole change archaeology has wrought: it has given us an atmosphere and a background for the stories of Genesis; it is unable to recall or certify their heroes." Permanent Significance of the Genesis Here again it is necessary to separate the narratives dealing with the be ginnings of things, i, 1-xi, 9, from the patri archal narratives, xi, 10-1, 26. Formerly the
opening chapters of Genesis were thought to give an absolutely accurate account of cre ation and of the earliest history of mankind. But as the result of investigations along various lines this view has become untenable. "We are .forced," says a well-known com mentator, "to the conclusion that though the writers . . . report faithfully what was cur rently believed among the Hebrews respecting the early history of mankind, yet there was much they did not know, and could not take cognizance of. These chapters consequently contain no account of the real beginnings, either of the earth itself, or of man and human civilization upon its Which means that if any one is in search of accurate information regarding the age of the earth, or its relation to sun, moon or stars, or the exact order in which plants and animals first appeared, or the rise of civilization, or the origin of languages and races, and similar questions, he should go to books embodying the results of scientific and historical investigation and not to the book of Genesis. So far as the scientific or his torical knowledge furnished in the latter is concerned it is of little more valtee than that contained in similar stories among other nations.
Nevertheless there is a difference in value between these Genesis narratives and extra biblical stories describing the same unknown ages. The latter are of interest simply as relics of a distant past. Not so the biblical narra tives: They are and ever will be of inestimable value, not because of their scientific teaching, but because they embody sublime religious truth in the crude forms of primitive science. Consequently, if, any one, instead of searching for accurate scientific information, wishes to know what connection the world has with God; if he seeks to trace back all that now is to the fountain head of life; if he desires to discover some unifying principle, some illuminating pose in the history of the earth, he may still turn to these chapters as a trustworthy guide In any consideration of the historical value of the patriarchal narratives it must be kept in mind that, whatever the origin of the book of Genesis, or of the Pentateuch, may have been, these .stories were handed down for sev eral centuries by word of mouth; which means that they were exposed to all the dangers which ordinarily threaten narratives thus transmitted. And though it may be granted that among peoples without written records the memory is unusually tenacious, and that popular stories once enshrined in the memory of a clan or tribe may be transmitted practically unaltered for many generations, nevertheless, the possibility of their becoming materially altered must be reckoned with. These modifications may be accidental, due to failure of memory, or in tentional, for the purpose of. bringing a story into harmony with the ideas, conditions and practices of a later age. As a result it becomes impossible to regard the patriarchal stories as historical authorities in the proper sense of that term.